Nursery boxes for rice seed

ABSTRACT

A nursery box comprising a growth substrate for rice, rice seeds and an aqueous formulation for treating said rice seeds to protect rice plants against insects for a prolonged period of time.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of application Ser. No. 08/966,801,filed Nov. 10, 1997, now allowed, which is a divisional of applicationSer. No. 08/786,788, filed Jan. 21, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,716,977,which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/427,799, filed Apr.26, 1995, now abandoned, which is a continuation of application Ser. No.08/138,192, filed Oct. 20, 1993, now abandoned.

The present invention relates to nursery boxes comprising a growthsubstrate for rice, rice seeds and an aqueous formulation for treatingsaid rice seeds to protect rice plants against insects for a prolongedprior of time. The invention further relates to a new process for thetreatment of rice crops using an insecticidal product other than anorganophosphorus insecticide, and more especially a new process for thetreatment of rice crops against parasites called stem borers (in LatinChilo spp.) and plant hoppers (in Latin Nilparvata lugens), as well asother parasites such as weevils (in Latin Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus).Other parasites are advantageously eliminated by the process accordingto the invention, especially the nematode Aphelencoides besseyi and themining fly Hydrellia philiippina.

Rice crops are attacked by a number of diseases, especially attacks frominsects such as those mentioned above. In the case of paddy rice, thereis a very particular difficulty in eliminating these insects since thepossible treatment products tend to pollute the water in the paddyfields. Research is thus aimed at both treating rice plants effectivelyand vigorously against parasites and, at the same time, reducing waterpollution to the bare minimum. The difficulty in solving this problem isparticularly great because the two demands conflict with each other: ifthe number of treatments is reduced in order to reduce pollution, thequality of the protection is reduced. If the number of treatments isincreased in order to increase the quality of the protection, pollutionis also increased. There is thus no obvious solution to the problem tobe solved, since the only possible solutions conflict with each other.

The problem of avoiding water pollution, in the case of ricecultivation, is all the more difficult since water for rice cultivationcomprises various species, including useful insects or aquatic fauna,which are beneficial and profitable. It is necessary to destroy theharmful species without harming these profitable species.

Although insecticides available on the market and in the literature arevery numerous, it so happens that there is virtually no satisfactorysolution to the abovementioned problem.

A new process has now been found for growing rice seedlings according tothe irrigated rice method which makes it possible to solve all or partof the abovementioned problems.

According to a first aspect of the invention, the latter relates to aprocess for treating rice plants or rice propagation material againstinsects with a view to obtaining a sustained and effective protection ofthe plant after the sowing period, characterised in that there isapplied to the said plants or, preferably, to their propagationmaterial, an effective amount of an insecticide other than anorganophosphorus insecticide having systemic properties which is capableof having a long-lasting effect, that is to say even persisting on thegrowing plant after germination. More preferentially still, thepropagation material used is the rice seed or, in other words, ricegrains. Advantageously, the insecticidal material used is that whichwill be defined below.

According to another aspect of the invention, the latter relates to aprocess for the treatment of rice plants or of rice propagation materialagainst insects, characterised in that no other treatment of the riceagainst insects is carried out for a period of 1 month, preferably for aperiod of 2 months, after sowing.

According to another aspect of the invention, the latter relates to aprocess for preventive, and optionally curative, treatment of ricepropagation products and of the rice seedlings resulting therefromagainst insect attacks, the said process consisting in applying to the(on and in the) rice propagation product an insecticidal active materialhaving systemic properties which is capable of having a long-lastingeffect. The insecticidal material used is preferably that which will bedefined below.

According to another aspect of the invention, the latter relates to aprocess for preventive, and optionally curative, treatment of ricepropagation products and of the rice seedlings resulting therefromagainst insect attacks, the said process consisting in applying to the(on and in the) rice propagation product an insecticidal compositioncontaining, as active material, an insecticide as already defined, aswell as an agriculturally-acceptable vehicle and optionally anagriculturally-acceptable surface-active agent.

According to another aspect, the invention relates to a process for ricecultivation in which a rice seed is sown containing, inside the seedgrains, an effective amount of an insecticide having systemic propertieswhich is capable of having a long-lasting effect (that is to say evenpersisting on the growing plant after germination). According to thisaspect of the invention, the rice can be sown directly in the paddyfield but it can also be sown in nursery boxes. These nursery boxes aresmall boxes. They are used for the controlled germination of seeds orpropagation material as well as for growing the young rice seedings thusobtained during a very precocious stage of growth, before transplanting.

According to another aspect, the invention relates to a process forprotecting rice grains, or rice seeds, for a long period against insectswhich cause damage to crops, and making them capable of conferring along-lasting protection on the plants to which they will give birth, thesaid process being characterised in that rice grains are immersed orbathed or soaked in or impregnated with an aqueous formulationcontaining an insecticide as already defined.

In its various aspects mentioned above, the effective amount of activematerial required for protection according to the invention is generallybetween about 3 and 200 g/q (gram of active material per quintal of ricepropagation material, preferably per quintal of seed, the weight of thelatter being taken before soaking and/or impregnation), preferablybetween about 3 and 100 g/q, and more advantageously between about 6 and25 g/q, these values representing the amount of active materialeffectively attached to the seed, in it or to its surface.

The invention further relates to rice seeds impregnated with such aninsecticide having systemic properties which is capable of having along-lasting effect.

The invention further relates to rice seeds wetted and impregnated withand/or soaked in an aqueous formulation comprising an insecticide havingsystemic properties which is capable of having a long-lasting effect,that is to say even persisting an the growing plant after germination.

This aqueous formulation intended for impregnating rice seeds can befairly diverse in nature and is defined in practice so as to be able toensure the incorporation in the said rice seed of the required effectiveamount of active material, as defined above. The formulation used in theinvention can be of very varied type, for example a solution or asuspension or an emulsion or a suspoemulsion, or something else. Theformulation used in the invention thus comprises, as necessaryconstituents, the active material and water; it optionally andadditionally contains other customary constituents used in agrochemicalformulations, for example those described in European Patent Application295,117. However, among the compositions described in this EuropeanPatent Application, it is preferable to choose those which are moresuited to rice seed impregnation. For example, the use of penetrationagents can be particularly suitable for promoting penetration of theinsecticidal active material into the said rice seed. The aqueousformulation used in the invention can also comprise another non-aqueousliquid phase.

According to a first embodiment of the invention commonly practised, theaqueous formulation used in the invention is obtained by diluting aconcentrated formulation with water, this formulation being of any typeknown per se, for example a solution, a suspension, an emulsifiableconcentrate, an emulsion, a suspoemulsion, a gel, a viscous liquid, awettable powder, a dispersible granule, or something else. The dilutedformulations used in the invention often have an active material contentdetermined by the values shown hereinafter for the amount of activematerial absorbed by the seed and by the amount of aqueous formulationalso absorbed or absorbable by the seed. This concentration, ordilution, can further vary within a very wide range according to thespeed of impregnation which is desired, and according to the amount ofeffluent (that is to say, of formulation not absorbed by the seed) whichis allowed (it will be seen below that a zero amount of effluent ispreferred).

According to a specific variant of the invention, the aqueousformulation which has just been defined additionally comprises asignificant amount of soil or compost or substrate/vehicle on and inwhich the rice seeds can germinate and the seedings can grow. Thisaspect of the invention makes it possible to produce nursery boxes forthe germination of rice grains and their growth. The formulationconsidered according to the invention as an aqueous formulation is thenthe soil or vehicle for growth comprising a very high water content,itself comprising the insecticidal active material. This soil is notsimply soil treated with an insecticide such as can be easily producedaccording to standard soil treatments, especially those described inEuropean Application 295,117, but is then, quite obviously, soil, or avehicle, containing sufficient water and insecticide for the rice seed,in contact with the soil, to be impregnated with a high amount ofinsecticidal active material, as defined above, to the point that theinsecticidal protection affects not only the soil or vehicle but alsothe rice plant resulting from the germination and from the growth of therice seed.

The invention thus further applies to nursery boxes containing

a growth substrate. This substrate consists generally of natural orreconstituted soil or compost. It generally comprises clay and sand andbinders and fertilisers,

rice seed,

an amount of water and insecticidal active material sufficient toproduce seeds having the effective contents shown above of the saidinsecticidal active material. The latter ingredient (water+activematerial) is, according to another way of expressing it, an aqueousformulation as described hereinabove or hereinafter.

The size of the boxes is generally chosen to correspond to 100 to 300boxes per hectare of cultivation, preferably 200 boxes. These boxescontain the amount of seed corresponding to a sowing of 10 to 300 kg/ha,preferably 20 to 200 kg/ha.

Although aqueous formulations of any type can be used in the invention,as well as systemic insecticidal active materials of the most variednatures, it is preferred to use, in the invention, active materials (andformulations containing them) which have little solubility in water, forexample having a solubility in water of less than 100 ppm (=parts permillion), preferably less than 50 ppm and more preferentially still lessthan 10 ppm. The solubilities which have just been referred to areintrinsic solubilities of the active material at a temperature ofbetween 20° C. and 30° C., without taking into account solubilisationswhich can take place under the effect of the most varied solubilisingagents or surface-active agents. The advantage of treatments accordingto the invention using such insecticidal active materials of lowsolubility is that the effectiveness of treatment is more consistent(especially in that the active material is not carried, after sowing,far from the seed or seeding by water, either by rain water orirrigation water) and longer lasting (mainly for the same reason, namelythat the insecticidal active material has a better persistence of actionin and close to the seed from which it is not far dispersed). It isunderstood that this relative insolubility of the insecticidal activematerial moreover has various consequences: the treatment according tothe invention to produce seed impregnated with insecticidal activematerial can be relatively long (for example more than one day, indeedtwo days or more, the treatment generally lasting from about 10 minutesto 1 day or more, depending upon the particular active ingredient'saffinity for the seed); another consequence is that the specific natureof the aqueous formulation used for treating the rice seed can varywithin the widest limits (in nature and in content), as long as anadequate amount of active material remains close to the seed to betreated.

Although the insecticidal active material thus has little solubility inwater, the formulation for seed treatment according to the inventionstill comprises a certain, very low, amount of active material insolution. As this is being absorbed by the rice grains, thenon-solubilised part of the insecticide redissolves; in other words, bymeans of reciprocal equilibria, the insecticide not initially insolution can be transferred into the aqueous phase and into the ricegrains. In this way, which corresponds to a progressive release, ricegrains containing insecticide can be obtained both from a solution andfrom a suspension or other formulation containing insoluble insecticide.

The aqueous formulation which has just been discussed thus preferablyconsists of an aqueous liquid containing at least one liquid phase,itself consisting of a saturated solution of the systemic insecticide,and which can also contain other ingredients such as penetration agents,that is to say promoting penetration of the rice grains by theinsecticide having systemic properties.

The invention thus further relates to a mass, or collection, of ricegrains juxtaposed and soaked in and/or impregnated with and/or bathed inand/or immersed in an aqueous insecticidal formulation as defined above.In yet other words, the invention further relates to a collection ofrice grains (especially in the form of nursery boxes or bags) immersedin or soaked in or impregnated with or bathed in an aqueous insecticidalformulation as defined above. If the amount of aqueous liquid, and itsconcentration, with respect to the amount of seed grains to be treatedand to the duration of absorption are suitably adapted, it is possibleto immerse the grains in an aqueous formulation until these grainsabsorb from about 90 to 100% of the aqueous formulation, preferably fromabout 95 to 100%. This variant of the process of the invention isparticularly advantageous in that it makes it possible to have noresidual formulation which has to be discarded. In effect, if part ofthe formulation has been in contact with the seeds but has not beenabsorbed by the latter, then it cannot be reused and thus must bediscarded. This variant of the invention thus greatly contributes tocontrolling pollution.

The invention also relates to the same masses of rice grains, or bags,in which the rice seed is in the form of grains which have alreadygerminated, or, in other words, the invention relates to such masses, orbags, in which the rice grains already have their first radicle, and areat the same time immersed in or soaked in or impregnated with or bathedin an aqueous formulation as defined above and containing an insecticideof formula (I).

The invention further relates to a process for protecting rice grains,or rice seeds, for a long period of time against insects which causedamage to crops, and making them capable of conferring a long-lastingprotection on the plants to which they give birth, the said processbeing characterised in that rice grains are immersed in or soaked in orimpregnated with or bathed in an aqueous formulation as defined aboveand containing an insecticide of formula (I).

In the various processes for treating rice propagation products,preferably rice seeds, as defined immediately above and previously, theamount of aqueous formulation brought directly into contact with theseed (or rice propagation material) to be treated is generally between15% and 300% of the weight of seed to be treated, preferably between 20and 200%. Values outside these ranges, whether more or less, can also beused but without substantial or specific advantage. According to aspecific embodiment, the amount of formulation used is equal to themaximum amount of aqueous formulation which the rice mass can absorb.This maximum amount can vary depending on various factors, especiallydepending on the temperature and the nature or variety of the specificrice seed treated. This amount is often between approximately 25 and100% of the weight of the said rice seed.

According to yet another aspect, the invention relates to a process forpropagating rice plants (or their seeds or rice propagation material)which consists in using a rice propagation material (or natural orartificial seed) soaked or impregnated beforehand with an aqueous liquidcontaining an insecticide having systemic properties and capable ofhaving a long-lasting effect.

Advantageously, the various aspects of the invention, as they have beenpresented or as they will be presented [that is to say, the ricepropagation material, the treated rice grains, the treated andgerminated rice grains, the immersed masses, or bags of rice, the seedtreatment processes, the curative or preventive treatment processes, theprocess for growing rice and the process for propagating rice plants andthe insecticidal formulations suited to the aims according to theinvention], are carried out with an effective amount of an insecticidehaving suitable systemic properties which is a pyrazole of formula

    1-[phenyl(X).sub.p ]-3-cyano-4-[R.sup.4 --S(O).sub.n ]-5-R.sup.5 -pyrazole(I),

in which:

X represents a halogen atom or, in position 4 on the phenyl ring, analkyl or alkoxy radical containing 1 to 4 carbon atoms and optionallysubstituted by 1 or a number of halogen atoms, especially fluorine,chlorine or bromine (which is represented hereinafter by theabbreviation haloalkyl and haloalkoxy),

R⁴ represents an alkyl or alkenyl or alkynyl radical containing 1 to 4carbon atoms, optionally substituted by 1 or a number of halogen atoms,especially fluorine, chlorine or bromine,

R⁵ represents

a hydrogen atom or

a halogen atom or an alkyl or haloalkyl group having from 1 to 4 carbonatoms, or

a linear or branched alkoxymethyleneamino group having from 2 to 5carbon atoms and in which the methylene group can be unsubstituted orsubstituted by an alkyl group having from 1 to 4 carbon atoms, or

a group R⁸ --S(O)_(n) in which R⁸ has either one or the other of themeanings given for R⁴,

an amino group

an amino group --NR⁶ R⁷ in which R⁶ and R⁷, which are identical ordifferent, represent

a hydrogen atom or,

an alkyl, alkenylalkyl or alkynylalkyl or alkanoyl or haloalkanoyl oralkoxycarbonyl or haloalkoxycarbonyl group containing up to 5 carbonatoms, or

a formyl group, or

R⁶ and R⁷ together form, with the nitrogen atom to which they areattached, a 5- or 6-membered cyclic imide,

n represents an integer equal to 0, 1 or 2,

p represents an integer equal to 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, preferably 1, 2 or 3and more preferentially 3.

Preferentially, the substituents have the following meanings:

X represents a halogen atom in position 2 or 6 of the phenyl ring and ahaloalkyl or haloalkoxy radical in position 4 on the phenyl ring,

R⁴ represents an alkyl or haloalkyl radical,

R⁵ represents a hydrogen or halogen atom or an amino group.

More preferentially still, the product of formula (I) is

    1-[2,6-dichloro-4-CF.sub.3 phenyl]-3-cyano-4-CF.sub.3 S(O).sub.n -5-NH.sub.2 pyrazole.

The invention thus also relates to rice grains, in other words the riceseed, comprising the active material of formula (I) in the soaked stateor impregnating the said seed (and not only coating the seed),preferably in the state saturating the said seed.

According to a variant of the invention, the rice grains are dry grainsimpregnated with the active material. According to another variant ofthe invention, the grains are damp grains, even wet grains, soaked inor, preferably, saturated with a solution or suspension containing theactive material of formula (I).

The invention further relates to a process for growing rice in which therice seed treated with a composition comprising an effective dose ofproduct of formula (I) is sown, the said process comprising no othertreatment (either of the seed or of the plant resulting therefrom)against insects (that is to say no other insecticidal treatment) for aperiod of 1 month after germination, preferably for a period of 2 monthsafter germination, it being understood that the effectiveness of theprocess of the invention is even often sufficient not to require anotherinsecticidal treatment beyond two months after sowing.

The principle of carrying out the seed treatment with insecticides asmentioned above was known per se, but only for the purpose of treatingthe seed, and not as a means of obtaining sustained and effectiveprotection of the plant after the sowing period.

The invention thus also relates to a process for preventive, andoptionally curative, treatment of rice propagation products and of therice seedlings resulting therefrom against insect attacks, the saidprocess consisting in applying to the (on and in the) rice propagationproduct, preferably the seed, an insecticidal composition containing theactive material 1-[2,6-dichloro-4-CF₃ phenyl]-3-cyano-4-CF₃ SO-5-NH₂pyrazole, as well as an agriculturally-acceptable vehicle and optionallyan agriculturally-acceptable surface-active agent.

According to yet another aspect, the invention relates to a process forthe propagation of rice plants (or their seeds or rice propagationmaterial) which consists in using a rice propagation material (or seed)treated beforehand using the active material 1-[2,6-dichloro-4-CF₃phenyl]-3-cyano-4-CF₃ SO-5-NH₂ pyrazole. This active material is inpractice an effective amount to produce the expected result. Thetreatment using the said active material consists in applying to or inthe rice propagation product an insecticidal composition containing theactive material 1-[2,6-dichloro-4-CF₃ phenyl]-3-cyano-4-CF₃ SO-5-NH₂pyrazole, as well as an agriculturally-acceptable vehicle and optionallyan agriculturally-acceptable surface-active agent.

The following examples, given as non-limiting examples, illustrate theinvention and show how it can be used.

EXAMPLES 1 and 2

Rice seeds are treated using an aqueous formulation obtained bydiluting, with water, a concentrated composition comprising 500 g/l of1-[2,6-dichloro-4-CF₃ phenyl]-3-cyano-4-CF₃ SO-5-NH₂ pyrazole. The twoexamples differ one from the other simply in the degree and the natureof the parasitic infestation.

The seeds are steeped, that is to say immersed for 24 h, in 100 l ofaqueous insecticidal composition until the composition has beencompletely absorbed by the seed, in it and at its surface. The amount ofwater added to dilute the concentrated formulation is inferred from theactive material content absorbed by the seed shown in the table below.

The seed is allowed to germinate and is then allowed to grow undernormal conditions until harvesting. Measurements are carried out atvarious stages of development, these measurements relating either to theplants or to the parasites. A clump generally comprises between 20 and50 rice stems.

The following results were observed:

The abbreviation DAS means "days after sowing".

Results of Example

    ______________________________________                                        Content of active                                                                           3.1    6.2     12.5 25    Untreated                             material in the seed in                                                                                                  control                            g/q                                                                           Percentage of            986    96                                                                                 98  92                                   germination                                                                   Number of adult weevils                                                                      3.2      2.2    1.6                                                                                1.8  12                                   per transplanted rice                                                         clump; 7 DAS                                                                  Number of larval weevils                                                                     6.2      3        1.8                                                                              1.6 26                                    per transplanted rice                                                         clump; 30 DAS                                                                 Percentage of plants                                                                             12.1                                                                              5.2     3      2.6                                                                             40                                    damaged by weevils;                                                           45 DAS                                                                        Number cf plant hoppers                                                                      9.8      8.2    6      4   28                                  per transplanted rice                                                         clump; 45 DAS                                                                 Number of plant hoppers                                                                      28        16     12                                                                                 8    72                                  per transplanted rice                                                         clump; 70 DAS                                                                 Percentage of leaves                                                                             26                                                                                  14     8     3   49                                  attacked by nematodes;                                                        60 DAS                                                                        Height of rice plants in                                                                     61.2    64.6   65.6                                                                               66     56                                  cm; 30 DAS                                                                    Yields in tonne/ha                                                                                 4.1                                                                              5.6    5.8                                                                                5.8 2.2                                   ______________________________________                                    

The infesting nematodes were of Aphelencoides besseyi type.

Results of Example

    ______________________________________                                        Content of active                                                                           12.5   25      50   100   Untreated                             material in the seed in                                                                                                   control                           g/q                                                                           Percentage of           998     98                                                                                 96    95                                 germination                                                                   Height of the rice                                                                                16.4                                                                            17        17.2                                                                             16.8  13.4                                 plants in cm; 17 DAS                                                          Number of tillers per                                                                         16.2  16.8    17.2                                                                               17      12                                 plant; 30 DAS                                                                 Percentages of dead                                                                             1.2                                                                                0.8     0.6                                                                                0.4   8                                   cores (damage of stem                                                         borers); 30 DAS                                                               Percentages of dead                                                                              8     3.2   2.6                                                                                2.2   23                                  cores (damage from stem                                                       borers); 50 DAS                                                               Number of plant hoppers                                                                      7         6       3.8                                                                              2.2   22.5                                per transplanted rice                                                         clump; 30 DAS                                                                 Number of plant hoppers                                                                      17       8.8    4.5                                                                                3.2   36                                  per transplanted rice                                                         clump; 60 DAS                                                                 Percentage of tillers                                                                          1.2   0.6     0.2                                                                                0.3   22                                  attacked by the mining                                                        fly, 40 DAS                                                                   Yields in tonne/ha                                                                                4.8                                                                               5.1    5.2                                                                                4.9   2.8                                 ______________________________________                                    

The mining fly is Hydrellia Philippina.

The tables above show the altogether remarkable results of theapplication according to the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A nursery box which comprises:(i) a growthsubstrate for rice; (ii) rice seeds; and (iii) an aqueous formulationfor treating said rice seeds to protect rice plants against insects fora prolonged period of time, said aqueous formulation comprising waterand a compound having the formula

    1-(2,6-dichloro-4-CF.sub.3 -phenyl)-3-cyano-4-CF.sub.3 S(O).sub.n -5-NH.sub.2 -pyrazole                                     (I)

wherein n is 0, 1 or 2, in an amount sufficient to impregnate said riceseeds and effectively protect rice plants germinated from theimpregnated seeds from insects for a period of at least two months aftersowing, in the absence of any other insecticidal treatment of theimpregnated seeds or of the rice plants germinated from the impregnatedseeds.
 2. A nursery box according to claim 1, wherein the amount of theaqueous formulation is between about 15 and 300% by weight of the riceseeds.
 3. A nursery box according to claim 2, wherein the amount of theaqueous formulation is between about 20 and 200% by weight of the riceseeds.
 4. A nursery box according to claim 1, wherein the amount of thecompound of formula (I) impregnated into the rice seeds is between about3 and 200 g/q.
 5. A nursery box according to claim 4, wherein the amountof the compound of formula (I) impregnated into the rice seeds isbetween about 3 and 100 g/q.
 6. A nursery box according to claim 5,wherein the amount of the compound of formula (I) impregnated into therice seeds is between about 6 and 25 g/q.
 7. A nursery box according toclaim 1, wherein the rice seeds absorb from about 90 to 100% of theaqueous formulation.
 8. A nursery box according to claim 7, wherein therice seeds absorb from about 95 to 100% of the aqueous formulation.
 9. Anursery box according to claim 1, having a size corresponding to from1/100 to 1/300 of a hectare of cultivation.
 10. A nursery box accordingto claim 9, having a size corresponding to 1/200 of a hectare ofcultivation.
 11. A nursery box according to claim 1, comprising anamount of rice seeds sufficient for sowing from 10 to 300 kg/ha.
 12. Anursery box according to claim 11, wherein the amount of rice seeds issufficient for sowing from 20 to 200 kg/ha.
 13. A nursery box whichcomprises:(i) a growth substrate for rice; (ii) rice seeds; and (iii) anaqueous formulation for treating said rice seeds to protect rice plantsagainst insects for a prolonged period of time, said aqueous formulationcomprising water and the compound5-amino-3-cyano-1-(2,6-dichloro-4-trifluoromethylphenyl)-4-trifluoromethylsulphinylpyrazole,in an amount sufficient to impregnate said rice seeds and effectivelyprotect rice plants germinated from the impregnated seeds from insectsfor a period of at least two months after sowing, in the absence of anyother insecticidal treatment of the impregnated seeds or of the riceplants germinated from the impregnated seeds.
 14. A nursery boxaccording to claim 13, wherein the amount of the aqueous formulation isbetween about 15 and 300% by weight of the rice seeds.
 15. A nursery boxaccording to claim 14, wherein the amount of the aqueous formulation isbetween about 20 and 200% by weight of the rice seeds.
 16. A nursery boxaccording to claim 13, wherein the amount of said compound impregnatedinto the rice seeds is between about 3 and 200 g/q.
 17. A nursery boxaccording to claim 16, wherein the amount of said compound impregnatedinto the rice seeds is between about 3 and 100 g/q.
 18. A nursery boxaccording to claim 17, wherein the amount of said compound impregnatedinto the rice seeds is between about 6 and 25 g/q.
 19. A nursery boxaccording to claim 13, wherein the rice seeds absorb from about 90 to100% of the aqueous formulation.
 20. A nursery box according to claim19, wherein the rice seeds absorb from about 95 to 100% of the aqueousformulation.
 21. A nursery box according to claim 13, having a sizecorresponding to from 1/100 to 1/300 of a hectare of cultivation.
 22. Anursery box according to claim 21, having a size corresponding to 1/200of a hectare of cultivation.
 23. A nursery box according to claim 13,comprising an amount of rice seeds sufficient for sowing from 10 to 300kg/ha.
 24. A nursery box according to claim 23, comprising an amount ofrice seeds sufficient for sowing from 20 to 200 kg/ha.